By JACK JOHNSON
Kansas City Monarchs
Kansas City, Kan. — On the back of the best start from a Monarchs pitcher this season, Kansas City claimed the rubber match with a 4-0 win over Sioux City.
With the victory, the Monarchs finish 8-4 against the Explorers in 2021.
After splitting the doubleheader on Wednesday, Kansas City (56-28) turned to its big right-hander Justin Donatella to win the series. Not only did he give them a chance, he made it impossible not to do so. Through the first two innings, Donatella buckled Sioux City (43-41) hitters with his breaking pitch.
In the bottom of the second, the Monarchs took advantage of Jorge Oleaga’s lack of command. The 21-year-old, who was making his professional debut, allowed two runs on no hits. A sacrifice fly from Alexis Olmeda and wild pitch were the cause of the two runs.
One inning later, Will Kengor belted a solo shot to extend Kansas City’s lead to 3-0. Colin Willis followed suit in the bottom of the fourth, which tied the American Association record for home runs by a team in a single season (128).
Back on the mound, Donatella's first-pitch strike efficiency allowed him to settle into cruise control. The righty punched out eight through eight scoreless innings on just 86 pitches. In addition, he threw a first-pitch strike to 20 of the first 25 batter’s he faced.
In the ninth, manager Joe Calfapietra gave Donatella the chance to toss a complete game shutout. He did just that and became the first Monarchs pitcher to throw a complete game shutout this season.
Kansas City begins a three-game set against Milwaukee at Legends Field on Friday. First pitch is set for 7 p.m. The game can be heard on the Monarchs BroadcastNetwork with the pre-game beginning at 6:35 p.m. and the video stream airing on aabaseball.tv.